IIT Bombay’s Microsatellite 'Pratham’ to be Launched in Sept End

ISRO will launch the microsatellite ‘Pratham’ designed by the students of IIT Bombay by the end of this month. Find detailed information here.

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) will soon launch a microsatellite named ‘Pratham’ in space with the help of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The satellite designed by the students of IIT-B will be released in space by the end of September 2016.

The launch will be made from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh where the satellite will be tested by the scientists in the presence of some of the core project team members over the next few days.

Started in the year 2008, this 1.5 crore project was the brainchild of few IIT-B students who wanted to build a satellite of their own. The project plan was then presented to ISRO, who agreed to help the students to build the satellite and launch it in space for free; leading up to signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ISRO and the premiere institute.

But with the project team members graduating from IIT-B in subsequent years, the project came to a standstill at the verge of its completion in 2010. This led to locking up the satellite in a cold storage for a couple of years and the MoU getting expired in 2011.

However, with a view to revive the project, IIT-B signed a fresh MoU with ISRO in 2012 and formed a fresh team of students for this ambitious project. The institute also decided to add new students to the Pratham team each semester to tackle the issue of students graduating the institute.

With continuous hard work and dedication, the Pratham team had successfully handed over the microsatellite to ISRO last week realising their long-borne dream of the students of IIT-B.

Encouraging more students to participate in such research activities, IIT Bombay have also conducted workshops in the past to promote the space endeavours of college students and motivated them to set up their own ground stations.